The Acknowledgement - Volume One

A Break From Raiding

                The Hauling and the Mining members were hard at work, gathering monster corpses and mana crystals, but deep within the dungeon, the boss remained alive. It had been awake for several minutes now, but remained as quiet and still as it could in its lair. "Don't make me laugh, you're kidding!" Winter laughed, sat up on top of a pillar, on the edge beside Macey, "It's true-" She broke into laughter- "I swear on it with me life!" She added, watching Winter lay back, flat on his back. Catching his breath from the laughter, "Did I really make you laugh that hard?" Macey giggled, turning to see all of Winter sprawled out, "Can I not laugh at a good joke?" He asked, looking over at her, "Can you?" She replied with her own question, "Good point," Winter scoffed, sitting up. "Is this your first time in an A-rank dungeon?" Macey asks, pulling her legs up from over the edge, "This is, yeah," he replied, glancing down before looking out at the boss. "The mana waves from the boss are strong, it's stronger than Vulcan and Metus combined-" He thought- "I'm impressed that you and Aaron take on these kinds of monsters on a regular basis!" Winter complimented, looking back at Macey. If it could sweat, it was sweating rounds of bullets, its jaw clenched down on its teeth. "I don't see it as very impressive, it's just a job like any other," she replied looking at Winter, she leaned in and pressed her shoulder against his. Winter suddenly flinches and becomes tense, "Something wrong?" She asks, tilting her head to the side. Winter shook his head, "Are you scared to face it later?" She asks jokingly, "More excited than anything, why?" Winter asked awkwardly, a smile returning to his face. Macey shrugged, "I'm going to head out to grab something to eat, do you want anything?" She asks, standing up. "I'm fine, I ate on my way over-" Winter replied, looking up at her- "Thanks though," she nodded, before leaping off the pillar, landing on the ground gracefully several feet down.

                Winter sighed, shaking head as Macey left the lair. Just as the boss was about to relax, Aaron walked in moments after Macey, "What were you two doing here by yourselves?" He asked, pulling up his cigarette to his mouth with a smug look, "Just talking, nothing special," Winter replied, landing on his two feet after leaping from the pillar, leaving a small creator beneath him. "Seems special to me," Aaron responded after blowing a puff of smoke, but Winter could only roll his eyes with amusement, "You're quite an impressive Mythic, Mr. Greats. I've never seen anyone like you since Miss Mears joined the Hunter's Guild!" He explained, "Thanks, I suppose I have a nac for these things-" Winter replied, unable to finish his train of thought again- "I wouldn't say nac. More of a passion, if I say so myself! You took down those Monsters as if your life depended on it," Aaron interrupted after taking a breath in through his cigarette. Winter sighed, shrugging his shoulders. "You're a lucky bastard, though-" He began, pointing at Winter with a cigarette- "Getting Miss Mears to even look at you is a once-in-a-lifetime occurrence, and yet you got her talking to you as if you're old friends!" Winter leaned his shoulder against the pillar, smirking softly. "She has a special ability where she can sense specific smells from mana, and Miss Mears finds it often repulsing-" Aaron began- "That's why she always covers her nose with a handkerchief. Breathing isn't easy for Miss Mears around other Mythics like us," Winter tilted his head, "Is that why she asked me if I was an S-rank?" He thought, resting his head against the pillar, "Is it connected to what Baruka told me, too?" Winter added, looking down into the expansive darkness in his shadow, "I must not have the same scent of a Mythic like Aaron, nor do monsters hear a voice that tells them to kill me-" He thought back to his conversation with the once living Baruka- "Is it because I'm a 'Player'?" Winter looked up to see Aaron taking a deep breath in through his cigarette, "I'm the only one that receives these special benefits from the System-" he ran his hand through his hair- "What does it mean to be a 'Player'?"

                With the boss defeated, Winter stepped out of the dungeon with the strike squad. They gathered around him, and showered him with compliments, "Thanks to you, we got done two hours early. I didn't think we'd get done this fast while I was sick!" Aaron placed a hand on his shoulder, "Heh, thanks," Winter replied awkwardly after flinching. "You'll be working with another strike squad tomorrow, but there shouldn't be any hitches. They're a very capable team," Aaron explained, "Wait, you have another strike squad?" He asks, "Yeah, that's the strength of the Hunter's Guild, we're probably the only Guild with two strike squads in Klato that can clear an A-rank dungeon. We divide up the work so we both can rest," he responded, "Count on me to be there!" Winter grew interested to see another A-rank gate.

                Back at home, Winter laid back on the couch. "I'm exhausted!" He sighed, "Maybe you shouldn't have been showing off to that Macey girl!" Ultima teased, "Don't even test me," Winter replied. Grabbing the TV remote and turning on the news. "I'm still working on a shoot, so I'll have to get an evaluation to know for sure-" a handsome young man with black eyes and wavy black hair scoffed- "Jeez, didn't Lee Lyn say he was recently awakened, and that he'll be taking an evaluation?" Winter asked, "It's all for the show! I can already tell he's going to be a low-ranking Mythic, he's just trying to pull a publicity act," Ultima reasoned, "Sounds about right," He cracked open a beer, brought it up to his lips, and sipped some down before taking a bite out of a whole steak. Macey closed her bedroom door, just in time to hear an empty can of beer hit the door, "She's just stressed, that's all-" Macey thought about her mother- "I wonder, is Mr. Greats documented at all?" She pushed herself off the door and grabbed her phone from the backpack she brought back with her, dialing a number. It rang until someone answered, "Hello?" She asked, "What is it, Miss Mears? You don't usually call this late," they responded from the other side of the phone. "Yeah, but I wanted some information about the MDA Agent that we were assigned. His name was Winter Legendary Greats," Macey replied, stepping over to the small window by the foot of her bed. "I've never seen someone like him before," She thought waiting for a reply, "Is he an MDA Agent? Ugh, I can't keep my mind off of this!" She sighed to herself, "You mean the owner of EWR who was recently re-evaluated?" They ask, "Is he a spy?" Macey quickly asked, "Far from, he was recently contracted by the MDA, and is going to join their ranks!" They explained, "How did you know that already?" She asked, "Well, Aaron made the same request when he got news of whom the MDA assigned to raid with the Hunter's Guild," they responded, "He did?" Macey asked, her eyes widening with surprise. "Yes, he wanted me to look through Mr. Greats' files-" they replied- "Anyway, I've been trying my best, but the MDA has classified his files outside public information. It's common for rich guys like him to request that, though!" Macey held her phone up to her ear, looking out at the rundown neighborhood from her second-story bedroom window. "So strange, he's such a mysterious guy!" She thought, pressing a finger from her left hand on her chin- "Miss Mears? Are you still there?" After this moment of silence, they ask- "He must be hiding something," Macey added, hanging up the phone. She dropped the phone on the sandbag, flopping onto the bed. "Why was he the only exception?" She began, slowly drifting off, "Out of all the Mythics on this planet. He's the first that I've met who smelled nice." Macey thought, laying on her back before someone knocked on her bedroom door, "Macey, mom was too drunk to cook. Could you make me something?" a young girl asked through the door, "Sure thing, Elena. Just give me a moment," She replied.